The Lipstick Incident
by ncisnewbie
Summary: There hasn't been a lot written about the lipstick smudge at the end of "Talion," last season. Here's what I think happened.


A. N.: There were three ways to interpret the lipstick incident at the end of "Talion." First, it could have been another false start like the mistletoe kiss so many years ago, but that's grown less plausible. Second, they could have been dating for a while, and the lipstick just made it public. Third, it's possible that the lipstick brought them together. I chose the scenario that would be the most fun to write.

Standard disclaimer: I do not own NCIS: Los Angeles or its characters.

Additional disclaimer: I've marked this a T, but if you think it should be re-classified as an M, drop me a note.

* * *

As soon as they reached the parking lot, Nell erupted in a fit of giggles. Eric's face, already red with embarrassment, gained another shade of red from the frustration, and another from friction as he furiously wiped off the lipstick.

"You knew!" he said accusingly.

"Of course I knew, Eric! We were in ops half an hour after they got Khaled handcuffed, and I was so close to breaking out laughing every time I looked at it." She giggled again, and stepped aside to keep out of Eric's considerable arm's length.

He tilted his head in resignation. "Well, you got me. You got me good."

She smiled and stepped in front of him, blocking his path. "Let me take you out for breakfast. Make it up to you."

He shook his head tiredly. "Nah. I've gotta get home and sleep it off."

She turned on her winning smile and craned her neck forward and into him. "I know this new little bakery that just opened up. C'mon Beale! Let's give it a try! It's almost on your way home, anyhow."

Eric wilted, "Oh, all right. But two cars, okay?"

At the bakery, Eric found them a table on the patio, while Nell placed the order. He used a napkin to get the last of the lipstick off his cheek, then spent a minute looking out over the friendly park.

Nell arrived a little later, carrying their tray. "You've just gotta try this, Beale! They call it a Copenhagen Danish, and it's just like a regular danish, but with a layer of filo and a layer of marzipan almond paste underneath. And here's your decaf."

He took a bite. "Wow!" Eric's eyes lit up. "This is good! Rich, but good. Awesome, in fact. How'd you find out about this place?"

She gave a self-satisfied smirk. "Research."

He took another bite. "What are you having?"

She held it out and tilted it for him to see. "Mine's a Spandauer with vanilla custard. Wanna bite?"

He lifted his off the plate and held it out for her, too. "Let's trade."

After her bite, she sat back with her lips pressed smugly closed, pulling her pastry just out of his reach. "You..." he growled in mock anger. He was forced to grab for her wrist, hold it, gently, and guide the pastry to his teeth for him to get his taste.

The settled back to enjoy their pastries and watch families relaxing in the park. Finally, Nell broke the companionable silence. "So, I really embarrassed you this morning."

Eric gave a rueful grimace. "You sure did. But, there's a lot I'd put up with with you."

Nell leaned forward and her eyes narrowed. "You just 'put up with' that kiss?"

"No, that's not what I mean! It was wonderful and amazing, but showing the lipstick to Hetty… and Granger, too! Like I said, I'd put up with almost anything for you. Anything except..." and his voice trialed off and he looked down into his cup half-filled with cooling coffee.

"Except what?" Nell prodded, but Eric remained silent, his expression grim. "C'mon, Eric. You can tell me."

It took nearly a minute, but Eric's expression gradually changed from defiance to contemplation.

Nell took another sip of her coffee, then prompted again. "Trust me. You can 'just put it out there' with me." She turned her smiling eyes to Eric, as if to burn holes into his with the intensity of her stare.

Eric took a deep breath, looked around and exhaled in resignation. He took another breath, and finally said, as much to his pastry as to Nell, "I guess I just can't wrap my head around a 'Platonic friend' who flirts. I never know what to expect. Don't be mad, and please don't change: that's just who you are."

Nell looked down and smoothed the tablecloth below her coffee. "No, Eric: That's not who I am. Around you, I'm a confused, scared little girl." At the word "scared," Eric looked up, worry in his eyes. "I can't figure out how to balance this high-stress work we do with my romantic," Eric's eyes shot open. "Yes, romantic feelings for you." While Nell collected her thoughts, she stared at the semicircle that was left of her danish. "On the one hand, it seems like Hetty's been grooming me to be her replacement, so I've got to be all 'serious' and 'intense.'" She held her fists tight and vertical, as if holding a beer mug in each hand. "But then my romantic side kicks in, and I wonder if I can have what Kensi has. But then the feelings subside and I have to get serious again."

Nell shook her head, as if clearing out the cobwebs. "I want to have it all, but it doesn't feel like I can, and I don't want to be unfair to you, either. All my friends from grade school are married already, and popping out babies left, right, and center. Mom tells me about it every chance she gets. You've met her: you can imagine what she'd be like about grand-babies."

"But Nell, you're busy saving the world: today, Hetty and Granger had their hands full dealing with Washington, so basically you had command during the rescue of a school full of kids: kids of some of the Pentagon's top brass, and leaders of the next generation military. The work you do for this country is amazing."

Nell's eyes narrowed, and she reached out to hold his hand. "We do, Eric...the work we do: we couldn't do it without your part. And it's great to be able to confide in you as a friend." She looked at the counter, where a gaggle of LA housewives waited boisterously to place their orders. "I just don't know, Eric. I want romance, but I don't want it to get in the way of the work. Is that crazy?"

"No, Nell. It's not crazy. You're not crazy. You deserve to be happy, and I'll do everything I can to help you be happy. But understand, there's a lot of ground between one lipstick smear to 'popping out babies.' We can take it slow. We can find a happy medium, and do what feels right...to us."

"What, precisely, are you suggesting here, Eric?"

He startled, as if surprised by what he'd just said. For a few seconds, he looked at his unused spoon, straightened it, then returned his gaze to her. "I guess I'm asking," his eyes darted to the park where a dog had let out an ill-timed bark, then returned to her eyes. "I'm asking if you'd like to try dating." His words sped up: "Or not. I mean we can take it as slow as you'd like, and I understand that I've always got a backseat to your work, and I don't think the team needs to know… I mean, unless you want them to."

She reached out her hand to his, as a sign to stop his babbling. "Yes."

Eric's eyes widened, "Yes? … You mean really yes?" His eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Yes to what?"

Nell's eyes sparkled as she whispered, "To dating, silly!" She drew the next word out carefully, but continued her whisper. "I'd like to date you, too."

"Wow," Eric muttered under his breath. "Just… just wow!"

Eric smiled as he continued to process what had just happened and contemplated his good fortune. After Nell had taken a few bites of her danish, she decided to distract him with gossip about the intrigues, both bureaucratic and romantic, around the office. When they both had lost interest in their breakfasts, Nell let out a yawn.

Eric reached for Nell's hand. "I'm pretty tired, too. Are you okay driving to your place, or should we just crash at mine?" Since Nell startled at the word "crash," Eric smiled. "I meant sleep it off. We both worked through the night. We've got some sleeping to catch up on. C'mon, Nellster."

"I guess that'll work. Okay if I sleep at your place? I think I can drive that far."

"That works. I'll follow you there. But please, look past the mess. Bachelor pad, late-night phone call: I can't vouch for how neat it is."

When they pulled up at Eric's, Nell grabbed her go-bag and waited for Eric on the sidewalk. They made small talk while walking up his steps, and when Eric had the door unlocked, he stepped aside to let Nell in, using a hand on her shoulder to guide her through the front door.

He grabbed a tee shirt and gym shorts from his dresser. "I'll change in here if you want first dibs in the bathroom." As soon as the door clicked closed, he became a whirlwind of activity: tore off his shirt, shoes and shorts in one practiced motion, stashed them in his hamper, threw on the sleeping clothes, then tore through the house straightening all the items out of place. He even had time to move a salmon filet from the freezer to the fridge so it could thaw for dinner. Finally, Nell came out, wearing gym shorts and a tee shirt that said, "Allergic to stupid people."

After Eric's turn in the bathroom, he emerged to see Nell staring at the inside of his closet door. "I'm sorry. I meant to close that."

"No, it's okay. I'm just surprised."

"Surprised? Why surprised?" He followed her gaze. "Oh, that!" It was a faded yellow sticky-note, carefully preserved between two sheets of plexiglass and mounted inside his closet door.

"You've kept it all this time?" Nell asked, her voice small.

"It was just so special to me. There were some mornings when that little note was the only thing that got me started. I hope that's okay."

"Okay? Yeah, it's okay. You haven't seen my driver's-side visor, have you?"

"There's a sticky-note there?"

"Sure as shootin', pardner!" She gave a mock slug to his shoulder.

He pulled her into a hug, and for a long minute she just nestled her cheek against his bicep. Finally, he broke the silence. "Let's get some sleep," and, from opposite sides of the bed, they crawled in under the sheets. Nell rolled beside Eric and put her head on his chest. "My new favorite pillow!" she exclaimed tiredly. Within minutes they were both asleep, smiles on their faces.

By late afternoon, the sun streaming in through one of Eric's windows made sleep nearly impossible for him, so gradually he returned to consciousness, but when it registered that his hand was on Nell's naked back, his eyes shot open, even as he remained as still as possible. Nell, watching him awaken, was able to smile as she saw his startle reaction. Eric saw the smirk on her face, and kissed. They made out like teenagers for a few minutes, before Eric pulled away. "I'll be right back: I've got morning breath."

He disappeared into the bathroom, and Nell, who had already brushed her teeth, could hear him attack his with vigor.

When he finished, Eric called through the bathroom door, "Hey, Nell, what does it say about us that I've got morning breath at," he paused, checking his watch, "almost four o'clock in the afternoon?"

Eric could hear Nell rolling her eyes as she answered. "It says we spent the whole night protecting our country, sweetie!"

When Eric returned from the bathroom, he caught sight of Nell's panties, newly draped across the back of his desk chair and Nell resting in the middle the bed, the sheet drawn up to her shoulders. Eric froze. "Nell, are you sure?"

She smiled. "Sure, I'm sure! I woke up half an hour before you did, and spent ten minutes deciding before I took off my shirt and another twenty minutes snuggling against you and thinking about how happy I've become… how happy you make me, Mr. Beale. The only question left is whether you're sure."

A smile broadened across his face. "Absolutely." And with that, he stripped out of his clothes and crawled in beside her.

* * *

p.s.: I tasted a Copenhagen danish at the Bread Garden in Berkeley, CA. I hope I did justice to its taste.

Newbie


End file.
